Sense of Accomplishment

I changed my first tire yesterday!

Yes, after all these months of riding my bike, I finally changed my own tire. I went over to American Cyclery, which is only a few blocks away from UCSF, and bought a new Vittoria Randonneur for my rear wheel. My old EverWear was getting really bare (all of the tread was gone and I was beginning to see the thread.) The guys at the cycle shop didn’t help me change the tire but they offered to let me borrow some of their tools. I jumped at the opportunity even though I had no idea what I was doing. After about 15 minutes or so of fumbling around and going nowhere, one of the guys gave me some tips and the rest went pretty smoothly.

With my rear wheel securely locked into the dropouts and everything checked and double-checked, I rode off into the Sunset with my new tire, a fat smile on my face, greasy hands, and a great sense of accomplishment.